Nearly 2.6 lakh students in Kerala do not have access to a television with cable connection, a computer or a mobile phone with an internet connection, according to a survey conducted by the General Education Department.
Samagra Siksha Kerala collected data from over 43.76 lakh pre-primary to Plus Two students in the state schools and found that more than 2.6 lakh students had no facilities for online classes.
The survey was conducted against the backdrop of the Kerala government mulling a proposal to begin online classes for students from June 1.
It was in Wayanad district that the number of students without such facilities was the highest at 21,653. This is 15 per cent of the total number of students in the district.
Alappuzha has the lowest number of students who have facilities, 6,683. This accounts for 2.94 per cent of the total number of students, according to a report on the Hindu.
The survey is a preliminary study based on which the government is likely to decide on a mechanism to bring these students under the ambit of online classes. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier said that arrangement would be made for such students who don't have such facilities.
The Hindu article quotes Samagra Siksha Kerala Project Director AP Kuttykrishnan as saying that between 2.6 and 3 lakh students in this state do not have television or internet connections.
It would now also be attempted to study the distribution of these students at the ward level to check the possibility of providing television access to these students at a common area, like libraries or even schools, while observing physical distancing.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Kerala Chief Minister confirmed Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed that all the SSLC, Higher Secondary and Vocational Higher Secondary examinations for the state students will be conducted as per the scheduled dates, between May 26 and 30.